Top rabbi reports ‘death threat’ against his son to FBI
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach complains to authorities over 'body bag' threat made on live TV by 'educator' Mohammed Hijab.
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach has complained to American law authorities after his recent appearance on a Piers Morgan programme in the UK generated posts on social media, inferring death threats against two of his sons who serve in the IDF.
Nearly three weeks ago Rabbi Boteach, who lived and worked in Oxford for 11 years before returning to the US, came back to Britain for a televised debate on Talk TV with Mohammed Hijab. Hijab, who has a huge following on Twitter/X of 397.4K, describes himself as a “philosopher, speaker, author and educator” on Islam.
Piers Morgan moderated the debate, which ultimately degenerated into shouting. Both sides claimed victory; but Rabbi Boteach claimed that during the debate, Hijab said he’d like to see the rabbi’s IDF son, Mendy, in a body bag.
The next day, on Twitter/X, Hijab posted a picture of what seemed to be a wrapped up body, next to a shovel, with the line “make sure that you apply the same discount to the funeral body bags for your terrorist IDF son Mendy. Promo-code Human-shield”.
A furious Rabbi Boteach told Jewish News that he and his family “took threats made by Mohammed Hijab very seriously”. He said he had reported the posts to the appropriate US authorities, including the FBI.
“I am shocked and appalled that a country that I love and admire, where six of my nine children, including Mendy, who is at risk here, were born, is allowing a high-profile Islamist, with millions of social media followers, to openly threaten the rabbi he debated on national TV with his children’s murder, without any kind of public outrage or without any kind of investigation by the police”.
He called on Piers Morgan “not only to speak out but to express his absolute abhorrence at the comments of Mohammed Hijab”.
A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies said: “We deplore this behaviour, which shouldn’t be countenanced either on TV or social media. The authorities should look into this clear and obvious example of hate speech”.
Jewish News has approached Mohammed Hijab for comment. It is understood that the Piers Morgan programme has no plans to invite him back on future shows.
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